The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA): A Conserative Organization with an Inadequate Response to the United Conservative Party’s Draconian Measures of Back-to-Work Legislation and the Use of the the Notwithstanding Clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Introduction The recent strike by Alberta teachers highlights the conservative nature of some teachers' organizations (see my post Manitoba Teachers’ Society and Its Social-Democratic or Reformist Ideologyfor a similar characterization of another teachers' organization, the Manitoba Teachers' Society). The Alberta teachers' strike was over wages and working conditions, including class size, the increasing complexity of … Continue reading The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA): A Conserative Organization with an Inadequate Response to the United Conservative Party’s Draconian Measures of Back-to-Work Legislation and the Use of the the Notwithstanding Clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Solidarity with Union Members–and an Occasion for Discussing the Limitations of Collective Bargaining: The Ontario Ford Government’s Legislation to Force CUPE Education Workers to Abandon Their Strike

The recent passing of legislation to force Ontario education workers to abandon a strike that they had not even yet started deserves to be opposed energetically. Ford, the Ontario premier, furthermore, justified the law practically by invoking the "notwithstanding" clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights. This clause involves the following: The notwithstanding clause — … Continue reading Solidarity with Union Members–and an Occasion for Discussing the Limitations of Collective Bargaining: The Ontario Ford Government’s Legislation to Force CUPE Education Workers to Abandon Their Strike